J Dey murder: Jigna accused of passing info to Chhota Rajan

The Mumbai crime branch on Friday arrested 38-year-journalist Jigna Jitendra Vora in connection with the murder of fellow journalist Jyotirmoy Dey (51), who was gunned down on June 11 in Powai.

| TNN | Updated: Nov 26, 2011, 06:36 IST

MUMBAI: The Mumbai crime branch on Friday arrested 38-year-journalist Jigna Jitendra Vora in connection with the murder of fellow journalist Jyotirmoy Dey (51), who was gunned down on June 11 in Powai. Vora, a crime reporter with a national daily, was produced before the special Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act court for allegedly passing on information about Dey’s movements to underworld don Chhota Rajan.

She is the eleventh person to be arrested in the case so far.

On August 15, TOI was the first to report on the possible involvement of a journalist in Dey’s murder in a story headlined: ‘Scribe dope helped Rajan plot Dey’s killing?’

Besides MCOCA, Vora has been booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code on charges of murder, aiding and abetting, and criminal conspiracy. She has been remanded in police custody till December 1, though her lawyer asked for judicial custody.

Police sources told TOI they were relying on a conversation where Rajan allegedly informed a kin of Vinod Asrani — who has been arrested in this case — that he regretted killing Dey and that it was the “woman journalist who had instigated and provoked him”.

The prosecution, however, did not refer to any instigation or provocation on Vora’s part in court. In its remand application, it claimed to have evidence of Vora passing on information — a photo of Dey, the addresses of his Powai residence and office, and his motorcycle licence plate — to Rajan, who then ordered the hit.

Meanwhile, Jigna’s lawyer said police was trying to save skin.

Vora’s lawyer alleged on Friday that the allegations made by police were as vague as when investigations into J Dey’s death began in June and, at best, an effort to fill in the blanks.

Public prosecutor Dilip Shah alleged that Vora had given information of Dey’s movements to Chhota Rajan. “She interviewed Rajan, and this is enough to establish that she was in touch with the gangster,’’ he said. “One person is used to provide information and the syndicate works on that information to commit the crime. She acted as an information provider,” Shah said.

He said the probing agency needed to establish the motive, and also identify the beneficiary. “She is a known journalist and she has not parted with the information innocently. She knew to whom she was imparting the information and its consequences,” he added.

“This is an ideal case where investigators try to fill in the missing link,” Vora’s lawyer Girish Kulkarni said.

“How was the information disseminated, the police are yet to find out. So when no one else is available, they make Jigna an accused as she had interviewed adon.”

Kulkarni said the police are trying to save their skin for the next court hearing, when they have to file charges.

Vora had been summoned to the crime branch for questioning a few times after Dey’s death.

“She did not give proper answers and even gave misguided information,” Shah argued in court.

Incidentally, Jigna had written a story soon after Dey’s murder stating drug baron Iqbal Mirchi was behind the killing. Kulkarni, however, argued it was reproduced in the newspaper a day later.

“It is available for the police to refer to. Talking to a crime syndicate does not make you a part of it, until the police has evidence to show her involvement,” Kulkarni argued.

Cops are yet to seize her computers and access her phone records to see if she has used them to communicate with Rajan. During the probe, the police allegedly learned that Jigna had “poisoned Rajan’s mind against Dey”.

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